For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20)

Creation itself testifies about its Creator. King David said in the Psalms, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Ps. 19:1). It is impossible to live on this planet without recognizing God, as nature is proof to His existence.

This Psalm goes on to say, “Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard" (Ps. 19:1-3). Creation’s voice goes out and translates into every known and spoken language. What it is revealing is the glory and majesty of God. By observing how specific and exact the interworkings of creation are, one can only come to the conclusion that there is a God. This is by design.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them" (Romans 1:18-19)

This is the first sharp corner in the book of Romans. Earlier, Paul laid out his thesis statement that the gospel is the power of God (Rom. 1:16) and in the gospel a righteousness by faith is revealed (Rom. 1:17). Now, Paul is tasked with explaining this in detail.

The first step is to prove mankind’s guilt before God and show the need for a savior. He will address several things but starts out insisting that every person has an instinctive knowledge of God’s wrath against their sin. Deep down, we all know what is right and wrong. We all know what sin is. Our own conscience bears witness to this idea, making us feel guilty about choosing to sin. But as a whole, humanity continues to suppress this truth and continues in wickedness.